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Thieves target the Mediterranean’s century-old olive trees

Surging olive oil prices, driven in part by two years of drought in Spain, has meant opportunity for criminals across the Mediterranean. Warehouse break-ins, dilution of premium oil with inferior product, and falsification of shipping data are on the rise in olive-growing heartlands of Greece, Spain and Italy. And perhaps worst of all: Gangs using chainsaws to steal heavily laden branches and even entire trees from unguarded groves.

By Thanassis Stavrakis / AP

Nov. 8, 2023

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A global surge in olive oil prices – which have tripled since 2019 to set records – has presented criminals across the Mediterranean with an opportunity.
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Workers use electric combs to harvest olives from a tree as the sun rises in Spata suburb, east of Athens, Greece, Monday, Oct. 30. Across the Mediterranean, warm winters, massive floods, and forest fires are hurting a tradition that has thrived for centuries. Olive oil production has been hammered by the effects of climate change, causing a surge in prices for southern Europe's healthy staple.
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A worker uses an electric comb to harvest olives from a tree in Spata suburb, east of Athens, Greece, Monday, Oct. 30. Across the Mediterranean, warm winters, massive floods, and forest fires are hurting a tradition that has thrived for centuries. Olive oil production has been hammered by the effects of climate change, causing a surge in prices for southern Europe's healthy staple.
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A worker spreads a collection net during the harvest of olives in Spata suburb, east of Athens, Greece, Monday, Oct. 30. Across the Mediterranean, warm winters, massive floods, and forest fires are hurting a tradition that has thrived for centuries. Olive oil production has been hammered by the effects of climate change, causing a surge in prices for southern Europe's healthy staple.
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A worker uses an electric comb to harvest olives from a tree in Spata suburb, east of Athens, Greece, Monday, Oct. 30. Across the Mediterranean, warm winters, massive floods, and forest fires are hurting a tradition that has thrived for centuries. Olive oil production has been hammered by the effects of climate change, causing a surge in prices for southern Europe's healthy staple.
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Olives hang on a tree during the harvest period in Spata suburb, east of Athens, Greece, Monday, Oct. 30. Across the Mediterranean, warm winters, massive floods, and forest fires are hurting a tradition that has thrived for centuries. Olive oil production has been hammered by the effects of climate change, causing a surge in prices for southern Europe's healthy staple.
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A worker collects olives during the harvest period in Spata suburb, east of Athens, Greece, Monday, Oct. 30. Across the Mediterranean, warm winters, massive floods, and forest fires are hurting a tradition that has thrived for centuries. Olive oil production has been hammered by the effects of climate change, causing a surge in prices for southern Europe's healthy staple.
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Olives are collected during the harvest period in Spata suburb, east of Athens, Greece, Tuesday, Oct. 31. Across the Mediterranean, warm winters, massive floods, and forest fires are hurting a tradition that has thrived for centuries. Olive oil production has been hammered by the effects of climate change, causing a surge in prices for southern Europe's healthy staple.
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Workers load olives on a van during the harvest period in Spata suburb, east of Athens, Greece, Tuesday, Oct. 31. Across the Mediterranean, warm winters, massive floods, and forest fires are hurting a tradition that has thrived for centuries. Olive oil production has been hammered by the effects of climate change, causing a surge in prices for southern Europe's healthy staple.
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Two men wait to unload olives into a loading bin at an olive oil mill in Spata suburb, east of Athens, Greece, Monday, Oct. 23. Across the Mediterranean, warm winters, massive floods, and forest fires are hurting a tradition that has thrived for centuries. Olive oil production has been hammered by the effects of climate change, causing a surge in prices for southern Europe's healthy staple.
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A man unloads olives into a loading bin as others look on at an olive oil mill in Spata suburb, east of Athens, Greece, Monday, Oct. 23. Across the Mediterranean, warm winters, massive floods, and forest fires are hurting a tradition that has thrived for centuries. Olive oil production has been hammered by the effects of climate change, causing a surge in prices for southern Europe's healthy staple.
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A machine sprays water over the olives at an olive oil mill in Spata suburb, east of Athens, Greece, Monday, Oct. 23. Across the Mediterranean, warm winters, massive floods, and forest fires are hurting a tradition that has thrived for centuries. Olive oil production has been hammered by the effects of climate change, causing a surge in prices for southern Europe's healthy staple.
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A worker unloads olives into a loading bin as others look on at an olive oil mill in Spata suburb, east of Athens, Greece, Tuesday, Oct. 31. Across the Mediterranean, warm winters, massive floods, and forest fires are hurting a tradition that has thrived for centuries. Olive oil production has been hammered by the effects of climate change, causing a surge in prices for southern Europe's healthy staple.
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Neilos Papachristou, left, who runs the olive mill and nearby grove in a fourth-generation family business, stands with a worker at a machine in Spata suburb, east of Athens, Greece, Monday, Oct. 23. Across the Mediterranean, warm winters, massive floods, and forest fires are hurting a tradition that has thrived for centuries. Olive oil production has been hammered by the effects of climate change, causing a surge in prices for southern Europe's healthy staple.
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A tank is filled with olive at an olive mill in Spata suburb, east of Athens, Greece, Monday, Oct. 23. Across the Mediterranean, warm winters, massive floods, and forest fires are hurting a tradition that has thrived for centuries. Olive oil production has been hammered by the effects of climate change, causing a surge in prices for southern Europe's healthy staple.
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Flamour Metaj, a worker from Albania, fills a tank with olive at an olive mill in Spata suburb, east of Athens, Greece, Monday, Oct. 23. Across the Mediterranean, warm winters, massive floods, and forest fires are hurting a tradition that has thrived for centuries. Olive oil production has been hammered by the effects of climate change, causing a surge in prices for southern Europe's healthy staple.
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Konstantinos Markou, an olive grower, reveals the stump of an olive tree cut down by robbers, in Spata suburb, east of Athens, Greece, Tuesday, Oct. 31. Across the Mediterranean, warm winters, massive floods, and forest fires are hurting a tradition that has thrived for centuries. Olive oil production has been hammered by the effects of climate change, causing a surge in prices for southern Europe's healthy staple.
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Konstantinos Markou, an olive grower, patrols his own grove, in Peania suburb, east of Athens, Greece, Tuesday, Oct. 31. Across the Mediterranean, warm winters, massive floods, and forest fires are hurting a tradition that has thrived for centuries. Olive oil production has been hammered by the effects of climate change, causing a surge in prices for southern Europe's healthy staple.
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A plane takes off as the olive groves surround the city's international airport, in Spata suburb, east of Athens, Greece, Friday, Nov. 3. Across the Mediterranean, warm winters, massive floods, and forest fires are hurting a tradition that has thrived for centuries. Olive oil production has been hammered by the effects of climate change, causing a surge in prices for southern Europe's healthy staple.

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